Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, hosts this final episode of The Child Life Wild Life Podcast with Alexx Friesen to celebrate the profound impact child life specialists make in pediatric healthcare through a collection of heartfelt stories sent in by specialists across the field. What unfolds is a tapestry of remarkable moments that showcase exactly why child life work matters. From the specialist who calmed a screaming child in the ER—causing their blood pressure to visibly d...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Ellen Palmer, about her journey as a dyslexic and ADHD-diagnosed child life specialist, sharing how these differences have become her "superpowers" in the emergency department. What if your neurodivergence wasn't just something to overcome, but actually your greatest professional asset? Ellen's story begins with her early diagnosis of dyslexia and later discovery of ADHD as an adult professional. With refreshing...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and new CCLS, Anisha Reza, about her journey as a second-generation immigrant and career-changer who brings a unique lens to our field. Having previously pursued medical school before finding her true calling in child life, Anisha offers invaluable insights on the challenges students face—particularly those from diverse backgrounds. When was the last time you truly listened to a student's perspective on the child life professio...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Kelley Gavel, about her journey through the challenges and profound rewards of supporting children and families in critical care settings. With dual master's degrees in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Counseling, Kelley brings a uniquely holistic perspective to her work in a bustling 36-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The conversation delves into the unexpected ways child life extends beyond hospital w...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Caitlin Wolf, about her work in pediatric hematology/oncology, and how she prioritizes siblings through thoughtful interventions and family-centered care practices. With passion and creativity, she shares practical strategies for maintaining crucial connections between patients and siblings during lengthy hospital stays or repeated admissions. From digital picture frames that allow photo sharing between hospital and h...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Morgan Livingstone, about her understanding that effective support doesn't require special equipment—it requires presence, creativity, and genuine connection through play, regardless of what language you may speak. Morgan's 28-year journey as a Certified Child Life Specialist has taken her from oncology units in Canada to remote Indigenous communities, and across continents to Kenya, Colombia, Botswana, and beyond. H...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Katie Lavallee, about the powerful synergy between recreational therapy and child life. As a dual-certified professional with a decade of recreational therapy experience and seven years as a child life specialist, Katie offers unique insights into how these complementary fields enhance patient care. Katie's journey began at age 12 when a compassionate child life specialist transformed her emergency department experie...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friends and CCLSs, Caelin Hallgren and Ramonna Datuin, about their newly found work/life balance as they have recently stepped away from the child life profession. The moment of reckoning came differently for each – for Ramonna, it was realizing her entire identity had become wrapped up in her clinical role, while Caelin found herself wishing for anything (even a car accident) just to avoid another workday. Their stories reflect a gro...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Veronica Burns, about her pivotal career shift to become a thriving postpartum doula and infant mental health specialist. Veronica's journey reflects what many professionals experience—the desire to apply specialized healthcare knowledge in settings that better honor their unique strengths and circumstances. After becoming certified in 2018 and briefly working in child advocacy, health challenges and insufficie...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Allison Messerly, about taking child life to camp! What happens when you take a child life specialist out of the hospital and place them in a summer camp setting for kids with cancer? Magic, advocacy, and a whole new world of psychological support. Allison Messerly shares her journey from hospital-based child life to creating a comprehensive support system at a day camp for children with cancer and their siblings. Th...